Nightmare
by DigiExpert
Summary: Aaeru just can't seem to shake the idea of what she had done, not even in sleep. She takes a walk to settle herself, thinking that perhaps it'll help.


**These rewatches of Simoun we've been doing in the community for Summer of Simoun were an excellent idea. They spark so many ideas, such as this one. It takes place after the events for episode 4, the one where Limone and Aaeru go on the unauthorized flight and are captured by the enemy. I rather enjoyed writing it out :) Enjoy!**

She lay in her bed that night, restless. She had been awake for over twenty-four hours, pushing herself despite the knowledge that she was completely exhausted inside. She took it as punishment for what had happened the previous night. Throughout the day she had been quiet, but no one had bothered her. At dinner she had started drifting in and out of sleep before she retreated to the ballroom, finally deciding a walk might wake her up. She'd sat on the bench after awhile, and had been rudely awakened by Floe, who had demanded that she go to bed "before I draw on your face with a marker!"

It had become an early night, and she had showered and dressed in her nightgown before sitting on the edge of her bed. It was eerily quiet in the room. It was always quiet at night, but it seemed that it was even more so tonight. Vyura was on night patrol with half of her chor; Aaeru hadn't spoken to her much and when she had, Vyura either made fun of Chor Tempest, or merely wanted to sleep.

Aaeru rolled over in her bed, facing the wall. She closed her eyes, wishing sleep would come as easily as it had when she sitting on the bench. She tried to clear her mind and think of nothing but flying the Simoun. She drifted off to sleep, pulling her hands close to her chest. It was the rest she needed to finally give her body a chance to recover.

Sawing. The strange grinding sound of blade against bone. Blood covered her hands, which felt sticky as old blood clung to her skin and dried, fresh blood covering it. She looked at the soldier's face, twisted in agony from his death. Perhaps he had coughed up too much blood and his face had become frozen that way as his body had given in. She was almost finished with the first hand. She'd only have to work with the second one and then they'd be able to leave and fly away.

She froze when she heard a sound. She thought it might be Limone, getting curious about what she was doing. As she was about to call out, she noticed movement from the dead soldier. Wait, movement? She froze as the hand she'd been diligently sawing at twitched, and then removed itself from the control. Her eyes went wide as she saw the soldier's eyes open and focus. On her. She pulled her hands away, holding up the knife to defend herself with. The soldier shouted something she couldn't understand, and lunged for her.

Down she fell from the Simoun, crashing onto the ground. "I didn't mean to do it!" she shouted. "We needed to get home. You can't have the Simoun!" She tried to rise to her feet, but the soldier crashed on top of her, knocking the wind from her.

Aaeru gasped, sucking in air. Damnit, that had hurt. She sat up slowly. The soldier hovered over her, pinning her lower half to the ground. She struggled to break free, but he was stronger. He gazed at her, looking deep into her eyes with his own wild ones. He shouted to her again before being taken over by a coughing fit. Aaeru screamed as he coughed blood onto her front. She couldn't take it, she couldn't—

She woke screaming in her bed. Clutching at her chest, her screams died away as she realized she was in her own bed on the Arcus Prima and not on some island with an Argentine soldier. Her eyes roomed her body, but she saw no traces of blood. Breathing deeply, she stood up, walking to her window. She could tell that the moon was high in the sky now, and everyone must be asleep. She hoped she hadn't woken anyone with her screaming. They'd want to know why, and she couldn't bring herself to tell them about the nightmare, or the cause of it.

A walk might help to settle her mind. She wanted to sleep, but she didn't want to come across that nightmare again. She opened her door and peeked into the hallway. Not a sound or footstep was heard. She made her way upstairs, using the moonlight from the windows to guide her progress. She came across no one on her journey and realized that she wore no bedroom slippers. By now she was on the main deck and didn't want to go back.

Aaeru wandered into the ballroom, taking a deep breath. She heard the soft whoosing of the maaju pool and thought that perhaps it might calm her to spend some time in it. She changed into her maaju outfit and jumped in without further thought. The air cradled her body and she floated, tracing curvy lines that started somewhere and ended nowhere. She closed her eyes and let the lines come to her. None were Ri Majon, but they summarized her feelings and her emotions. When she thought of the previous day, her lines were quick and tight, bunched together. As she calmed herself, the lines loosened up, bending and curving gently like a rolling hillside.

After a time, she felt her muscles grow tired and weary. She turned herself skyward and soon pulled herself from the pool. Changing back into her nightgown, she looked up at the sky. There weren't as many stars in the sky as there were on her grandpa's farm. She felt so far away from the sky when she couldn't see the stars. It couldn't be helped. She turned and headed for the hallway again. She felt heavy and exhausted, and knew she'd fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of pink. Neviril sat at one of the tables in the cafeteria, staring off into space. Had she been more awake, she might have attempted to talk to the girl. As it was, she really didn't care. Her mind was occupied with sleep and not dealing with the nightmare again. She padded toward the stairs, and her head suddenly felt woozy. She paused and waited until everything straightened itself out before she began to walk down the stairs.

The next thing she knew, her cheek was pressed against the cool floor. She pushed herself onto her knees and rubbed her head. It felt sore and the left side of her body was sore as well. She looked back up at the stairs. She couldn't figure out how she'd gotten down them so quickly. Well, she'd figure it out later. She got to her feet, but found herself wobbling back and forth. A pair of hands touched her shoulders, steadying her. She looked over her shoulder. "Neviril!" she called.

Neviril didn't reply as she guided Aaeru down the hall. Aaeru yawned and let her, eyes drooping. She really didn't care what Neviril was doing right now. The pair stopped outside Aaeru's door. "I'll be fine from here, thanks," called Aaeru, smiling. She opened the door, but still felt Neviril guiding her into her room. "Huh? Neviril?" she asked questioningly.

Aaeru walked to her bed and lay down. She yawned and looked over at Neviril. "Thanks," she said, smiling. Neviril pulled the sheet up and covered her gently with it.

Smiling, Aaeru closed her eyes, and the next thing she knew, it was morning. Bits and pieces of the night before came floating back to her, and she found it odd now that Neviril would have been so kind and helpful to her. She really didn't know the Sibylla Aurea from what she saw of her, since the girl was often cooped up in her room. "It must have been a dream too," she murmured, stretching in the warm sunlight. "A very strange dream, that's all."


End file.
